Here
is an interesting score. Created by world famous French
composer Maurice Jarre, best known for his work on
Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago,
the soundtrack to this 1987 production features many
of the composer's trademark touches. For those familiar
with Jarre, his composing techniques were, for their
time, fresh and riveting. Displaying a contemporary
charm while still conveying a timeless sense for scores
such as the previously mentioned Lawrence of Arabia.
Sadly, none of that praise can apply to Tokyo Blackout.

While it's a notable anomaly to see a non-Japanese
composer on a soundtrack from the country, especially
one of Jarre's pedigree, the ending result is fairly
forgettable. The score does exhibit some of Jarre's
normal style, including heavy use of the piano and
a contemporary sense, directly tying it into the 1980's
from which it was produced. This contemporary sense
is especially apparent on tracks like "Against
the Danger II", which favor a more electronic
means of composition. A few tracks do avoid these
more modern techniques, such as the piano solo track
"Ballad of Love", although Jarre commits
his best work to this particular score for those cues
that drench in the style of the decade. Despite sounding
ludicrously outdated, the "Fight" theme
here is a pretty fun track that does convey a sense
of energy, something the rest of the soundtrack sorely
lacks, although it sounds more fitting for a video
game score. The rest of the score is fairly forgettable,
though. Many of the cues weave into similar motifs
used elsewhere, giving some segments a slightly monotonous
sense. Some composers do electronic scores very well
too, such as Isao
Tomita, but here it simply seems to make the entire
proceeding feel very "budget oriented",
like a made for TV feature.

Overall, there is nothing too special about this particular
soundtrack. It's very rare on today's market, and
commands top dollar on the occasion that it does show
up, but its value is more from its scarcity than anything
else. Still, despite its short runtime, it does appeal
to those who like music from this particular decade,
as the CD displays a lot of work that is distinct
for this period of scoring.